Pepper hybrid SV7266HJ

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and the parent lines thereof. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and the parent lines thereof, and to methods for producing a pepper plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another pepper plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and theinbred pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a pepper plant of thehybrid designated SV7266HJ, the pepper line HJA-FD-1187 or pepper lineSJR-114-1126. Also provided are pepper plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of such a plant. Partsof these pepper plants are also provided, for example, including pollen,an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid SV7266HJand/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 comprising an addedheritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise a geneticlocus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. In oneembodiment of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and/orpepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 is defined as comprising asingle locus conversion. In specific embodiments of the invention, anadded genetic locus confers one or more traits such as, for example,herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, and modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the trait may beconferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into the genome of aline by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or a transgeneintroduced through genetic transformation techniques into the plant or aprogenitor of any previous generation thereof. When introduced throughtransformation, a genetic locus may comprise one or more genesintegrated at a single chromosomal location.

The invention also concerns the seed of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and/orpepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126. The pepper seed of theinvention may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population ofpepper seed of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187and SJR-114-1126. Essentially homogeneous populations of seed aregenerally free from substantial numbers of other seed. Therefore, seedof hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 maybe defined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed, including atleast about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. The seed population may beseparately grown to provide an essentially homogeneous population ofpepper plants designated SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 andSJR-114-1126.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a pepper plant of hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper linesHJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating pepper plants capable ofexpressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe starting plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially thesame genotype as the starting plant. Examples of some of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the hybrid SV7266HJand/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 include those traitsset forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in such tissuecultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistils, flowers,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides pepperplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of hybridSV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing pepper seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent pepper plant with a second parentpepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent pepperplants is a plant of pepper line HJA-FD-1187 or pepper lineSJR-114-1126. These processes may be further exemplified as processesfor preparing hybrid pepper seed or plants, wherein a first pepper plantis crossed with a second pepper plant of a different, distinct genotypeto provide a hybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant of pepperline HJA-FD-1187 or pepper line SJR-114-1126. In these processes,crossing will result in the production of seed. The seed productionoccurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent pepper plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent pepper plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent pepper plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent pepper plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a pepper plant or hybrid pepperplant.

The present invention also provides the pepper seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent pepper plant with asecond parent pepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent pepper plants is a plant of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepperlines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126. In one embodiment of the invention,pepper seed and plants produced by the process are first generation (F₁)hybrid pepper seed and plants produced by crossing a plant in accordancewith the invention with another, distinct plant. The present inventionfurther contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybrid pepper plant, andmethods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplary embodiments of theinvention provide an F₁ hybrid pepper plant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper linesHJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126, the method comprising the steps of: (a)preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepperlines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126, wherein said preparing comprisescrossing a plant of the hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187and SJR-114-1126 with a second plant; and (b) crossing the progeny plantwith itself or a second plant to produce a seed of a progeny plant of asubsequent generation. In further embodiments, the method mayadditionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration from said seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generationand crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself ora second plant; and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10generations to produce a plant derived from hybrid SV7266HJ and/orpepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126. The plant derived from hybridSV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 may be aninbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing steps may bedefined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line.In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plants resultingfrom step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). Byselecting plants having one or more desirable traits, a plant derivedfrom hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 isobtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of the line/hybridas well as potentially other selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pepperhybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting atleast one pepper from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofpepper hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126is provided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used to refer to theaggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of which sequencesdefines the phenotype of, in the present case, a pepper plant, or a cellor tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thus represents thegenetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid geneticcomplement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue orplant. The invention thus provides pepper plant cells that have agenetic complement in accordance with the pepper plant cells disclosedherein, and seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid SV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187and SJR-114-1126 could be identified by any of the many well knowntechniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by pepper plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a pepper plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second pepper plant, preferably, another, distinctpepper plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a pepperplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ, pepper line HJA-FD-1187and pepper line SJR-114-1126.

Pepper Hybrid SV7266HJ, also known as “PX-11487266” or “PAPANTLA”, is ajalapeno hybrid. Fruits are green immature, coloring to red, and anaverage of 10 cm long by 4 cm wide at the shoulder, with a bullet shapeand excellent firmness. The hybrid is resistant to Xanthomonascampestris races 0-3 (X3R). Pungency values average 2,000 Scoville HeatUnits (SHU) on a fresh basis.

Parent line HJA-FD-1187 has bullet-shaped fruit that are 8×3 cm withgreen immature fruits coloring to red and are hot and very firm.

Parent line SJR-114-1126 has bullet-shaped fruits that are 12×4.5 cmwith green immature fruits coloring to red and are sweet. Parent lineSJR-114-1126 was disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/847,783 filed on Jul. 30, 2010.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Pepper Hybrid SV7266HJ

The parents of hybrid SV7266HJ are HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126. Theparent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybrid produced therefrom.A small percentage of variants can occur within commercially acceptablelimits for almost any characteristic during the course of repeatedmultiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pepper HybridSV7266HJ, Pepper Line HJA-FD-1187 and Pepper Line SJR-114-1126

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and the parent lines thereof.A description of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofsuch plants is presented in Table 1-3.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of HybridSV7266HJ Tam VeraCruz CHARACTERISTIC SV7266HJ (HJA 960-0008) 1. SpeciesC. annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability) daysfrom transplanting until 52 54 mature green stage days fromtransplanting until 91 87 mature red or yellow stage days from directseeding until 95 97 mature green stage days from direct seeding until134 130 mature red or yellow stage Seedling anthocyanin coloration ofhypcotyl moderate moderate 3. Plant habit compact semi-spreadingattitude upright/erect semi-upright/semi- erect plant height 58.0 cm52.3 cm plant width 52.8 cm 49.4 cm length of stem from cotyledon 15.3cm 14.6 cm to first flower length of the third internode 66.7 mm 80.8 mm(from soil surface) length of stem medium medium shortened internode (inupper present present part) For varieties with shortened one to threemore than three internodes only: Plant number of internodes between thefirst flower and the shortened interodes stem: hairiness of nodes mediumabsent or weak height medium medium basal branches few (2-3) none branchflexibility willowy willowy stem strength (breakage strong strongresistance) 4. Leaf length of blade medium medium width of blade mediumnarrow width 57.5 mm 56.4 mm length 107.8 mm 124.5 mm petiole length37.4 mm 36.3 mm color dark green dark green color (RHS Color Chartvalue) 137A 137A intensity of green color dark dark mature leaf shapelanceolate lanceolate leaf and stem pubescence light light undulation ofmargin weak weak blistering medium medium profile in cross sectionstrongly concave moderately concave glossiness medium medium 5. Flowerpeduncle: attitude drooping semi-drooping flowers per leaf axil 1 1calyx lobes 6.3 6.6 petals 6.2 6.4 diameter 23.1 mm 23.9 mm corollacolor white white corolla throat markings yellow yellow anther colorpurple purple style length exceeds stamen exceeds stamenself-incompatibility present present 6. Fruit group Pimento (PimentoPimento (Pimento Perfection) Perfection) color (before maturity) greengreen intensity of color (before dark medium maturity) immature fruitcolor dark green medium green immature fruit color (RHS 147A 143A ColorChart value) attitude/position drooping/pendent drooping/pendent lengthlong medium diameter medium medium ratio length/diameter large mediumcalyx diameter 23.3 mm 20.1 mm fruit length 96.3 mm 74.9 mm fruitdiameter at calyx 32.6 mm 25.9 mm attachment fruit diameter at mid-point33.8 mm 30.0 mm flesh thickness at mid-point 4.4 mm 4.3 mm averagenumber of fruits per 42.6 62.9 plant % large fruits 28.20% weight range:11.30% weight range: 45 to 71 28 to 40.5 % medium fruits 48.60% weightrange: 38.90% weight range: 20 to 44 18 to 27 % small fruits 23.20%weight range: 49.80% weight range: 4 to 19 3 to 17 average fruit weight38.3 gm 20.3 gm fruit shape (longitudinal narrowly triangular moderatelytriangular section) fruit shape (cross section, at circular circularlevel of placenta) sinuation of pericarp at basal absent or very weakabsent or very weak part sinuation of pericarp excluding absent or veryweak absent or very weak basal part texture of surface smooth or veryslightly smooth or very wrinkled slightly wrinkled surface smoothnesssmooth rough color (at maturity) red red intensity of color (atmaturity) dark dark mature fruit color red red mature fruit color (RHSColor 46A 53A Chart value) glossiness strong medium stalk cavity absentabsent pedicel length 33.4 mm 24.0 mm pedicel thickness 4.5 mm 4.7 mmpedicel shape curved curved pedicel cavity absent straight stalk: lengthmedium short stalk: thickness medium medium base shape rounded roundedshape Oblong (Jalapeno) Oblong (Jalapeno) set concentrated concentrateddepth of interloculary grooves absent absent number of loculespredominantly three predominantly three % fruits with one locule 0%   0% % fruits with two locules 0%    3% % fruits with three locules57%  63.40% % fruits with four locules 43%  30.00% % fruits with five ormore 0%  3.00% locules average number of locules 3.4 3.4 thickness offlesh medium medium calyx: aspect enveloping (cup- enveloping shaped)pungency hot hot capsaicin in placenta present present mg Capsaicin pergram dry fruit 1.45 mg 1.08 mg Scoville Units (dry fruit) 22,428 16,606flavor strong pepper flavor strong pepper flavor glossiness shiny shiny7. Seed seed cavity length 82.0 mm 55.7 mm seed cavity diameter 26.2 mm21.5 mm placenta length 64.7 mm 49.3 mm number of seeds per fruit 183.961.9 grams per 1000 seeds 6.3 gm 5.3 gm color yellow yellow 8.Anthocyanin coloration of: stem moderate moderate nodes strong strongintensity of anthocyanin very strong strong coloration of nodes leafmoderate weak pedicel absent weak calyx absent absent anther presentpresent anthocyanin coloration absent moderate beginning of flowering(1^(st) early medium flower on 2^(nd) flowering node) time of maturitylate medium *These are typical values. Values may vary due toenvironment. Other values that are substantially equivalent are alsowithin the scope of the invention.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineHJA-FD-1187 Tam VeraCruz CHARACTERISTIC HJA-FD-1187 (HJA 960-0008) 1.Species C. annuum C. annuum 2. Maturity (in region of best adaptability)days from transplanting until 53 54 mature green stage days fromtransplanting until 93 87 mature red or yellow stage days from directseeding until 96 97 mature green stage days from direct seeding until136 130 mature red or yellow stage Seedling anthocyanin coloration ofhypcotyl strong moderate 3. Plant habit compact semi-spreading attitudeupright/erect semi-upright/semi- erect plant height 46.8 cm 52.3 cmplant width 46.2 cm 49.4 cm length of stem from cotyledon 12.2 cm 14.6cm to first flower length of the third internode 80.2 mm 80.8 mm (fromsoil surface) length of stem medium medium shortened internode (in upperpresent present part) For varieties with shortened one to three morethan three internodes only: Plant number of internodes between the firstflower and the shortened interodes stem: hairiness of nodes weak absentor weak height medium medium basal branches none none branch flexibilitywillowy willowy stem strength (breakage strong strong resistance) 4.Leaf length of blade medium long width of blade medium medium width 50.8mm 56.4 mm length 98.4 mm 124.5 mm petiole length 42.6 mm 36.3 mm colordark green dark green color (RHS Color Chart value) 147A 137A intensityof green color dark dark mature leaf shape lanceolate lanceolate leafand stem pubescence light light undulation of margin weak weakblistering medium medium profile in cross section moderately concavemoderately concave glossiness medium medium 5. Flower peduncle: attitudesemi-drooping semi-drooping flowers per leaf axil 1 1 calyx lobes 5.86.6 petals 5.7 6.4 diameter 25.4 mm 23.9 mm corolla color white whitecorolla throat markings yellow yellow anther color purple purple stylelength exceeds stamen exceeds stamen self-incompatibility presentpresent 6. Fruit group Pimento (Pimento Pimento (Pimento Perfection)Perfection) color (before maturity) green green intensity of color(before dark medium maturity) immature fruit color dark green mediumgreen immature fruit color (RHS 147A 143A Color Chart value)attitude/position drooping/pendent drooping/pendent length medium mediumdiameter medium medium ratio length/diameter large large calyx diameter19.7 mm 20.1 mm fruit length 75.8 mm 74.9 mm fruit diameter at calyx26.6 mm 25.9 mm attachment fruit diameter at mid-point 27.1 mm 30.0 mmflesh thickness at mid-point 4.8 mm 4.3 mm average number of fruits per60.5 62.9 plant % large fruits 17.80% weight range: 11.30% weight range:25 to 37 28 to 40.5 % medium fruits 50.50% weight range: 38.90% weightrange: 15 to 24 18 to 27 % small fruits 31.70% weight range: 49.80%weight range: 1.5 to 14 3 to 17 average fruit weight 18.1 gm 20.3 gmfruit shape (longitudinal narrowly triangular moderately triangularsection) fruit shape (cross section, at circular circular level ofplacenta) sinuation of pericarp at basal absent or very weak absent orvery weak part sinuation of pericarp excluding absent or very weakabsent or very weak basal part texture of surface slightly wrinkledsmooth or very slightly wrinkled surface smoothness smooth rough color(at maturity) red red intensity of color (at maturity) dark dark maturefruit color red red mature fruit color (RHS Color 53A 53A Chart value)glossiness strong medium stalk cavity absent absent pedicel length 23.0mm 24.0 mm pedicel thickness 3.3 mm 4.7 mm pedicel shape curved curvedpedicel cavity absent straight stalk: length medium medium stalk:thickness thin medium base shape rounded rounded shape Oblong (Jalapeno)Oblong (Jalapeno) set concentrated concentrated depth of interlocularygrooves absent absent % fruits with one locule 0%    0% % fruits withtwo locules 6.70%      3% % fruits with three locules 47%  63.40% %fruits with four locules 46.60%    30.00% % fruits with five or more 0% 3.00% locules average number of locules 3.4 3.4 thickness of fleshmedium medium calyx: aspect enveloping (cup- enveloping shaped) pungencyhot hot capsaicin in placenta present present mg Capsaicin per gram dryfruit 2.50 mg 1.08 mg Scoville Units (dry fruit) 37,242 16,606 flavorstrong pepper flavor strong pepper flavor glossiness shiny shiny 7. Seedseed cavity length 58.1 mm 55.7 mm seed cavity diameter 17.3 mm 21.5 mmplacenta length 47.5 mm 49.3 mm number of seeds per fruit 75 61.9 gramsper 1000 seeds 7.1 gm 5.3 gm color yellow yellow 8. Anthocyanincoloration of: stem strong moderate nodes strong strong intensity ofanthocyanin very strong strong coloration of nodes leaf weak weakpedicel weak weak calyx absent absent anther present present anthocyanincoloration weak moderate beginning of flowering (1^(st) early mediumflower on 2^(nd) flowering node) time of maturity late medium *These aretypical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other values thatare substantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

TABLE 3 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineSJR-114-1126 Tam VeraCruz CHARACTERISTIC SJR 114-1126 (HJA 960-0008) 1Species C. annuum C. annuum 2 Maturity (in region of best adaptability)Days from transplanting until 75 81 mature green stage Days fromtransplanting until 95 100 mature red or yellow stage Days from directseeding until 111 118 mature green stage Days from direct seeding until108 137 mature red or yellow stage 3 Plant Habit Compact CompactAttitude Upright/erect (De Upright Cayenne, Doux très long des Landes,Piquant d'Algérie) Plant height 70.1 cm 44.8 cm Plant width 38.7 cm 44.2cm Length of stem from cotyledon 20.2 cm 12 cm to first flower Length ofthe third internode 10.6 cm 5.9 mm (from soil surface) Length of stemMedium (Belsir, Lamuyo) Stem: hairiness of nodes Absent or very weak(Arlequin) Height Tall (Century, Orias) Basal branches None None Branchflexibility Rigid (Yolo Wonder) Rigid (Yolo Wonder) Stem strength(breakage Strong Intermediate resistance) Length of blade Medium (Atol,Blondy, Marconi, Merit, Anthea) Width of blade Broad (California wonder,Golden calwonder, Seifor, Solario) 4 Leaf Leaf width 5.9 mm 10.7 mm Leaflength 8.5 mm 5 mm Petiole length 3.6 mm 3.1 mm Color Dark green Darkgreen RHS Color Chart Value 137A 137A Intensity of green color Dark(Dolmy, Tinto) Mature leaf shape Broad elliptic (Solario) Lanceolate(Diavolo, Recio) Leaf and stem pubescence Heavy Light Undulation ofmargin Absent (De Cayenne) Weak Blistering Very weak Weak Profile incross section Flat (De Cayenne, Recio) Glossiness Weak (De Cayenne, Douxtres long des Landes) Peduncle: attitude Drooping (Heldor, Lamuyo) 5Flower Flowers per leaf axil 1 1 Calyx lobes 6 5 Petals 6 6 Diameter 2.7mm 2.4 mm Corolla color White White Corolla throat markings YellowYellow Anther color Purple Purple Style length Less than stamen Exceedsstamen 6 Fruit Group Jalapeno (Jalapeno) Jalapeno (Jalapeno) Color(before maturity) Green (California wonder, Lamuyo) Intensity of color(before Dark maturity) Immature fruit color Dark green Light greenImmature fruit color 136A 146A RHS Color Chart value Attitude/positionDrooping/pendent (De Drooping Cayenne, Lamuyo) Length Medium (Fehér,Lamuyo) Diameter Narrow (Doux très long des Landes) Ratiolength/diameter Medium (Adra, Cherry Sweet, Daniel, Delphin, Edino)Calyx diameter 19.7 mm 10.4 mm Length 70.1 mm 127.4 mm Diameter at calyxattachment 31.1 mm 10.0 mm Diameter at mid-point 33.8 mm 12.4 mm Fleshthickness at mid-point 3.93 mm 1.6 mm Average number of fruits per 21.1mm 67.6 plant % small fruits (weight range: (weight range: 5 g to 15 g)1 g to 15 g) 56.10% 26.5% % medium fruits (weight range: (weight range:16 g to 35 g) 16 g to 30 g) 40.50% 63.6% % large fruits (weight range:(weight range: 36 g to 55 g) 31 g to 45 g) 3.40% 9.8% Average fruitweight 17.2 gm 20.1 gm Shape in longitudinal section Rectangular(Clovis, Horn-shaped Nocera rosso) Shape in cross section (at levelCircular (Cherry Sweet, Quadrangular of placenta) Doux très long desLandes) Sinuation of pericarp at basal Absent or very weak part(Delphin, Kalocsai V-2, Milord) Sinuation of pericarp excluding Absentor very weak basal part (Delphin, Milord) Texture of surface Smooth orvery slightly Smooth wrinkled (Milord) Color (at maturity) Red (Fehér,Lamuyo) Intensity of color (at maturity) Medium Mature fruit color RedRed Mature fruit color RHS Color 45A 46A Chart value GlossinessMedium/moderate Weak (Carré doux extra hâtif, Lamuyo, Sonar) Pedicellength 2.64 mm 1.76 mm Pedicel thickness 6.0 mm Pedicel shape CurvedCurved Pedicel cavity Absent Absent Stalk: length Long (De Cayenne,Sierra Nevada, Sweet banana) Stalk: thickness Medium (Doux italien,Surpas) Base shape Rounded Rounded Shape of apex Rounded (Cherry RoundedSweet) Shape Conical (Pimento) Conical (Pimento) Set ConcentratedConcentrated Depth of interloculary grooves Shallow (Milord, AbsentTopgirl) Number of locules Predominantly four and more (Palio, PAZszentesi) % fruits with one locule 33.30% 46.7% % fruits with twolocules 11.20% 13.3% % fruits with three locules    0% 26.7% % fruitswith four locules 55.50% 13.3% % fruits with five or more 0   0% loculesAverage number of locules 2.7 2.06 Calyx: aspect Non-enveloping/saucer-shaped (Lamuyo, Sonar) Pungency Sweet Hot Flavor Mild pepperflavor Moderate Glossiness Moderate Moderate 7 Seed Seed cavity length57.7 mm 59.5 mm Seed cavity diameter 24.3 mm 20.7 mm Placenta length29.3 mm 37.9 mm Number of seeds per fruit 70 mm 131 8 SeedlingAnthocyanin coloration of Weak Moderate hypocotyl Plant: anthocyanincoloration of Moderate Weak stem Plant: anthocyanin coloration of Strong(California Moderate nodes wonder) Stem: intensity of anthocyanin Strong(Piquant coloration of nodes d'Algérie, Zarai) Plant: anthocyanincoloration of Absent Absent leaf Plant: anthocyanin coloration of AbsentAbsent pedicel Plant: anthocyanin coloration of Absent Absent calyxFlower: anthocyanin coloration Present (Lamuyo) in anther Fruit:anthocyanin coloration Absent (Lamuyo) Absent *These are typical values.Values may vary due to environment. Other values that are substantiallyequivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

C. Breeding Pepper Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof pepper hybrid SV7266HJ involving crossing pepper lines HJA-FD-1187and SJR-114-1126. Alternatively, in other embodiments of the invention,hybrid SV7266HJ, line HJA-FD-1187, or line SJR-114-1126 may be crossedwith itself or with any second plant. Such methods can be used forpropagation of hybrid SV7266HJ and/or the pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 andSJR-114-1126, or can be used to produce plants that are derived fromhybrid SV7266HJ and/or the pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126.Plants derived from hybrid SV7266HJ and/or the pepper lines HJA-FD-1187and SJR-114-1126 may be used, in certain embodiments, for thedevelopment of new pepper varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid SV7266HJ followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross withSV7266HJ and/or pepper lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 for thepurpose of developing novel pepper lines, it will typically be preferredto choose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or moreselected desirable characteristics or which exhibit the desiredcharacteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirabletraits may include, in specific embodiments, high seed yield, high seedgermination, seedling vigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance orresistance, and adaptability for soil and climate conditions.Consumer-driven traits, such as a fruit shape, color, texture, and tasteare other examples of traits that may be incorporated into new lines ofpepper plants developed by this invention.

D. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those pepper plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalpepper plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental pepper plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a pepper plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny pepper plants of a backcross in which a plantdescribed herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired traitfrom the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of pepper the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of pepper plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

E. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S);1 the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988); the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem;the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter; a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a pepper plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a pepper plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125,1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

F. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) color chart value: The RHS color chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS color chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a peppervariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a pepper plant by transformation.

G. Deposit Information

A deposit of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and inbred parent lines HJA-FD-1187and SJR-114-1126, disclosed above and recited in the claims, has beenmade with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 UniversityBlvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The dates of deposit were Aug. 11,2015, Aug. 11, 2015, and Mar. 27, 2009, respectively. The accessionnumbers for those deposited seeds of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ and inbredparent lines HJA-FD-1187 and SJR-114-1126 are ATCC Accession No.PTA-122353, ATCC Accession No. PTA-122354, and ATCC Accession No.PTA-9904, respectively. Upon issuance of a patent, all restrictions uponthe deposits will be removed, and the deposits are intended to meet allof the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. The deposits will bemaintained in the depository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years afterthe last request, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever islonger, and will be replaced if necessary during that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pepper plant comprising at least a first set ofthe chromosomes of pepper line HJA-FD-1187, a sample of seed of saidline having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122354.
 2. Apepper seed comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepperline HJA-FD-1187, a sample of seed of said line having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number PTA-122354.
 3. The plant of claim 1, whichis an inbred.
 4. The plant of claim 1, which is a hybrid.
 5. The seed ofclaim 2, which is an inbred.
 6. The seed of claim 2, which is a hybrid.7. The plant of claim 4, wherein the hybrid plant is pepper hybridSV7266HJ, a sample of seed of said hybrid SV7266HJ having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number PTA-122353.
 8. The seed of claim 6, definedas a seed of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ, a sample of seed of said hybridSV7266HJ having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-122353.9. The seed of claim 2, defined as a seed of line HJA-FD-1187.
 10. Aplant part of the plant of claim
 1. 11. The plant part of claim 10,further defined as a leaf, an ovule, pollen, a fruit, or a cell.
 12. Apepper plant having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the pepper plant of claim
 7. 13. A tissue culture ofregenerable cells of the plant of claim
 1. 14. The tissue cultureaccording to claim 13, comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant partselected from the group consisting of meristems, cotyledons, pollen,leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, and stalks.
 15. Apepper plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 13, whereinsaid plant otherwise comprises all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the pepper plant comprising at least afirst set of the chromosomes of pepper line HJA-FD-1187, a sample ofseed of said line having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-122354.
 16. A method of vegetatively propagating the pepper plant ofclaim 1 comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of beingpropagated from the plant according to claim 1; (b) cultivating saidtissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rooting said proliferatedshoots to obtain rooted plantlets.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising growing at least a first pepper plant from said rootedplantlets.
 18. A method of introducing a desired trait into a pepperline comprising: (a) utilizing as a recurrent parent a plant of pepperline HJA-FD-1187, by crossing a plant of pepper line HJA-FD-1187 with asecond donor pepper plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1progeny, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-122354; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprisesthe desired trait; (c) backcrossing the selected F1 progeny with a plantof the same pepper line used as the recurrent parent in step (a), toproduce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcross progeny comprisingthe desired trait and the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent pepper line used in step (a);and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times to produceselected fourth or higher backcross progeny that comprise the desiredtrait, and otherwise comprise essentially all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the recurrent parent pepper line usedin step (a).
 19. A pepper plant produced by the method of claim
 18. 20.A method of producing a pepper plant comprising an added trait, themethod comprising introducing a transgene conferring the trait into aplant of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ or pepper line HJA-FD-1187, a sample ofseed of said hybrid and line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-122353 and ATCC Accession Number PTA-122354, respectively.21. A pepper plant produced by the method of claim
 20. 22. A pepperplant comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineHJA-FD-1187, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-122354, further comprising a transgene. 23.The plant of claim 22, wherein the transgene confers a trait selectedfrom the group consisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insectresistance, pest resistance, disease resistance, modified fatty acidmetabolism, environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydratemetabolism and modified protein metabolism.
 24. A pepper plantcomprising at least a first set of the chromosomes of pepper lineHJA-FD-1187, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-122354, further comprising a single locusconversion.
 25. The plant of claim 24, wherein the single locusconversion confers a trait selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism and modified proteinmetabolism.
 26. A method for producing a seed of a pepper plant derivedfrom at least one of pepper hybrid SV7266HJ or pepper line HJA-FD-1187comprising the steps of: (a) crossing a pepper plant of hybrid SV7266HJor line HJA-FD-1187with itself or a second pepper plant; a sample ofseed of said hybrid and line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-122353 and ATCC Accession Number PTA-122354, respectively;and (b) allowing seed of a hybrid SV7266HJ or line HJA-FD-1187-derivedpepper plant to form.
 27. A method of producing a seed of a hybridSV7266HJ or line HJA-FD-1187- derived pepper plant comprising the stepsof: (a) producing a hybrid SV7266HJ or line HJA-FD-1187-derived pepperplant from a seed produced by crossing a pepper plant of hybrid SV7266HJor line HJA-FD-1187 with itself or a second pepper plant, a sample ofseed of said hybrid and line having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-122353 and ATCC Accession Number PTA-122354, respectively;and (b) crossing the hybrid SV7266HJ or line HJA-FD-1187-derived pepperplant with itself or a different pepper plant to obtain a seed of afurther hybrid SV7266HJ or line HJA-FD-1187-derived pepper plant. 28.The method of claim 27, further comprising repeating said producing andcrossing steps of (a) and (b) using a seed from said step (b) forproducing a plant according to step (a) for at least one generation toproduce a seed of an additional hybrid SV7266HJ or lineHJA-FD-1187-derived pepper plant.
 29. A plant part of the plant of claim7.
 30. The plant part of claim 29, further defined as a leaf, a flower,a fruit, an ovule, pollen, or a cell.
 31. A method of producing a pepperseed comprising crossing the plant of claim 1 with itself or a secondpepper plant and allowing seed to form.
 32. A method of producing apepper fruit comprising: (a) obtaining the plant according to claim 1,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity; and (b) collecting apepper from the plant.